


The Curse

by Ayala_Steelfire



Category: World War II - Fandom
Genre: Curse of Saint Vitus, Freedom Fighters, Gen, Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, Nazis, Political Assassination, Prague, Resistance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 15:14:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9390521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ayala_Steelfire/pseuds/Ayala_Steelfire
Summary: Operation Anthropoid: Czech partisans are on their way to assassinate Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich. Does the ancient curse of St. Vitus come into play?





	

Only in the darkness can you see the stars, they say. 

But there are no stars to be seen in the crypt of St. Vitus Cathedral, only the fleeting shadows of long gone kings and saints, delving in the sacred grounds of the old pagan sanctuary that christian priests claimed as their own long time ago.

This is a place of power, vows and ancient knowledge.

And you should have known. You should have listened to Heinrich, the quiet master of old, occult lore. He knows that some powers are no folkloric tales, no propaganda tools to beguile the simple-minded. They are real. You, the young neo-pagan god of death, wearing the black-and-silver of the Thunder God, warrior rings on your fingers like the Norse warlords of old, you should have known that some ancient things are better left undisturbed. That their golden shine is just a trap for fools, eye-candy for those always eager to reach out for Fortune and Glory - two unfaithful mistresses that drag you into their arms but are only deciet and lies.

Yet you laughed, and put the Crown of St. Wenceslas on your head with a defiant smile. The golden band shone like a small sun on your pale forehead and blond hair, the jewels matching the hue of your turquoise eyes. A fit ornament for a conqueror.   
An horrified whisper filled the dark crypt, a cold draft crept inside, and the perfume of incense and old earth was no longer soothing. For only a true Bohemian king could crown himself - and live. Any usurper would die a violent death within a year, and his eldest son after him. But you laughed - only old women and the weak-minded were guilty of such supertitious thoughts.

Only in the darkness can you see the stars, they say.  
In the darkness of the night, the big Halifax plane cuts its way through the clouds. The young assassins inside it cannot see the stars. But in the darkness, they shine. They shine with steel and brass, guns and bullets.

Within a few months, Reinhard Heydrich - you will be dead.

**Author's Note:**

> \- There is indeed a legend saying that any usurper putting the Crown of Tchecoslowakia on his head would die within a year, as well as his eldest son.  
> However, even if he did visit the crypt of St. Vitus Cathedral, there's no evidence that Heydrich did put the crown on his head. But this is the stuff urban legends are made of...and he was assassinated 10 months after his visit.
> 
> \- Churches and cathedrals were often built on former pagan sacred sites. I wanted to play on that, and give this drabble an heroic fantasy-ish feel to it. Ancient legends, dark magic, curses...I just love that stuff.
> 
> \- Part of the SS ethos was based on neo-pagan folklore and beliefs. Himmler was very much into that. It seemed only fitting to use it in this story.
> 
> \- Silver is the favorite metal of the Thunder God Thor. His hammer Mjollner was made of it. As many parts of Norse mythology, this was used in Nazi imagery.  
> SS - men indeed wore silver warrior rings, just as the ancient Norse, Celtic and saxon warriors. To my knowledge, it's the one and only modern army corps who did that.


End file.
